Kevin Paul Tracy

Kevin Paul Tracy, writer, philosopher, and all 'round raconteur, has traversed half the globe and both sides of the equator. He has SCUBA dived under ice and snow, and flooded craters hidden deep under ground, and he has done just about every odd occupation you can think of, from cave spelunking guide to wildlife photographer to interstate courier.

Kevin's fiction tends to deal with themes of bravery and fortitude in the face of extreme adversity, most often featuring very ordinary men and women forced into extraordinary circumstances, called upon to plumb their own unknown strengths and resourcefulness.

Author Updates

I am a regular contributor to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog. My articles appear on the first Thursday of every month. I have four books currently in print, a game, and two anthologies that I have either written for or edited. I have at least three other projects in the works and bound to be released soon.
I don't always do well in promoting myself and the stuff I have out there that readers might enjoy. I've always found self-promotion rather unsavory, the people quite adept

I will be joining about 40 other authors from across the fiction world at a book signing in Denver Friday night September 9 at 8 PM. Come to the Renaissance Hotel at 3801 Quebec St, Denver, CO 80207 and say hi. There will be a cash bar. I look forward to meeting each of you!

Patricia Duffy is the foremost female heroine in my latest thriller, Presence of Malice. Many readers have asked how someone as nice as Patricia ended up working for such a prick as Dr. Gerald Gannery, and moreover, why she stayed.
Such things happen gradually. To a wide-eyed college student still several months away from graduating from business school, it seemed like a dream job come true, at first. Not only was one of New York's most

Jet Gatling is the central character in my latest book, Presence of Malice, and yet very little of the book is told from his point of view (only two short narratives, in point of fact.) I did that deliberately, I wanted Jet to remain a mystery to the reader, with a big question - is he the good guy or is he another bad guy? If a bad guy, why didn't he outright kill Dr. Gannery, the man he'd been contracted to take out, given multiple opportunities to do so? If a good guy, then why doesn't he

I have maintained a strict "no politics, no religion" policy when it comes to my public writings, such as this blog. Believe me, that isn't always easy, especially this election cycle with everything that's going on. I long to speak out on my views, defend my beliefs and take to task the deliberately twisted rhetoric of the other side. I have opinions, expressed or not, and it goes against the grain not to express them in the public forum, be heard, and add my voice to the strength

I do, I really, do!
Don't get me wrong, Colorado will always be my home. Nothing compares to cool Rocky Mountain breezes on a hot summer day, the lovely moderate crispness and earthy colors of a Colorado Autumn, or the view of the lights of Denver as you emerge from the front range hogbacks that are the gateway between the rustic mountains and the metropolitan city.
But I have often had occasion to visit Seattle, and while most people have really only heard about the rainy wea

It is ironic that in the news people deeply concerned with the humane treatment of animals have found a cause célèbre in the hunt and killing of a wild African lion in Zimbabwe this week, when in the latest Kathryn Desmarais Gothic Mystery, Bloodtrail, Kate is faced with just such a situation - a group of people who hold life cheap and have placed a weakened and starved lion into an arena with two healthy, heavily armed men bent on torturing him for the p

Many of you have asked me to publish this and here it is finally: my manifesto of The Hero Ethic, the ethics and qualities of a true-blue fictional hero. Dyed in the wool heroes are no longer in vogue these days, we like our protagonists flawed and damaged, struggling themselves with things such as ethics and morality, very much human and prone as much to be the authors of disaster as they are to be the solution. But in my opinion, it's hard to write any kind of hero, even a flawed one or an

Sorry it's been a while since I posted on this blog. Been busily promoting the release of Bloodtrail, the enthralling sequel to Bloodflow. Sales are steady and we're pleased. I'd like a few more reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads.com but I am pleased with the ones I have. It strikes me as I read these reviews though, that many readers are reluctant to reveal certain details about the book for fear of giving spoilers. Well, as the author of the book there are certain details I don't mind you

"Bloodtrail," the hotly anticipated sequel to "Bloodflow" and second volume in the Kathryn Desmarais Gothic Mysteries is finally complete and at the presses now, release data to be announced!
"Bloodtrail" takes Kate to sin city, Las Vegas, in search of a misguided runaway teenage girl. Kate, who is still struggling to come to terms with what she has become, runs afoul of a cabal of strange subhumans who feed

I'm back from a long hiatus. I apologize to regular readers of my blog - it appears when I'm writing a manuscript, most of my writing energy is taken up by that. Between that and certain outside obligations - most notably my monthly contribution to the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers blog the first Thursday of every month - and it seems I have little energy left to keep up my own blog. I'm going to work on that in the future, because this blog is every bit as important

Sorry, folks, no posts for the next couple of weeks. I'm right down to the wire on "Bloodtrail," the amazing sequel to "Bloodflow." Meanwhile, why not enter to win your free copy of "Bloodflow?" Goodreads Book Giveaway Bloodflow by Kevin Paul Tracy
Giveaway ends October 31, 2014.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

This week's article is going to be a brief one. I wanted to wax rumanitive about background noise when you're writing. Some people are not only able to write in a cone of utter and complete silence, or as close as one can get, but they even require it. I can't imagine that - silence drives me crazy. To me, and this is just my opinion, but I'm sure certain others of you out there agree, silence isn't anything in an of itself, but rather the lack of something...noise.

We all know it. Like the demon possessing the man from Gadara, it is Legion, and it goes by a hundred different names. The bog; the swamp; the stairway to nowhere; the wall; the well; the pit; the wasteland; the middle part; etc. It is that part of our story past the setup and the inciting incident, but before the build to the climax. It's the middle part of our book in which the story must be carried forward, but we have no earthly idea what to do with it. Understanda

"Wait...strike that...reverse it...okay." - Willie Wonka
So many of my friends have asked me how I stay so laid-back, easy-going, and calm all the time. One friend even described me once as having a perpetual island attitude, referring to the relaxation one experiences on vacation in the Caribbean or some such place. Well, first of all, those who know me best know that isn't always me - I can sometimes get tweaked, just like everyone else. Usually what sets me off is when I f

I love writing. It's much more than a pass-time or hobby for me. Yes, you could call it a drive, or obsession. But even more than that, it is sustenance, nourishment to me. When I haven't written in a day or two, the urge to do so is much like starving.
On the other hand there are some things I downright hate about writing! Things that drive me bat-shit crazy and make me want to throw my typewriter across the room (if I wrote on a typewri

My friends don't understand how I can write so much. For that matter, my family doesn't get me, either. Only other writers, with the same devotion, the same passion, the same drive as I have, get me. Which is why attending critique groups and writers conferences can be such an important part of being a writer - just a couple of hours' exposure to other writer can energize the creative batteries more than almost any other writing-related activity.
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In a prior life I used to manage local music talent, mostly helping teen garage bands make the transition into actual performance venues and the like. It was not uncommon, unfortunately, to schedule an opening act and a headline act for a venue and, no matter how much advertising is done - print, social, marquee, etc. - the bands are the only ones to show up, some stragglers aside. The headliners would sit and watch the opening act perform, and then they'd trade places on th

First, let's all agree - fiction isn't real life. Readers of fiction read for diversion from real-life cares and woes. One can become invested in the lives of characters without paying the very real price, which more often than not is a broken heart. Still, in order for readers to care, the characters in the novel and the world in which they inhabit need to bear as much similarity to our real world as is necessary for us to identify with them and their dilemmas. Even i

I'm lucky enough to have four appearances scheduled over the next four months (see Appearances in the sidebar at right.) I certainly would like to have more scheduled, but I still think that's pretty darn good. So in this week's post I'd like to say a word or two about each of the venues I'll be appearing at in upcoming signings and panel discussions.Hearthfire Books of Evergreen
1254 Bergen Parkway
Suite D118
Evergreen, CO 80439
FRIDA

In today's post I'd like to reprint an email I sent to a local independent bookseller in response to their email detailing their outrageous policy for hosting book signings for local authors. This is not, of course, any representation of independent booksellers as a whole. In general these are some of the warmest, friendliest people with the biggest hearts that has ever been my privilege to know. But I do think the last paragraph of my letter to this particular bookseller

As a writer of fiction that as often as not takes place in an urban or commonplace setting I'm not nit-picky about grammar when it comes to dialog, especially when it comes to informal speech. Who really knows how to spell most modern slang, anyway? A lot of it is as subjective as, say, naming your child Tammi with an 'I' or Tammy with a 'Y.' People often leave their participles hanging in every-day conversations. And it is just as common to end a sentence in a preposition as n

I started directing this post to other writers, but then it occurred to me this really applies to anyone with the ambition and drive to take on multiple projects with an unwavering goal of finishing them all. This doesn't apply to dilettantes who are content to start a project, then abandon it when they lose interest to pick up another hobby. Those people are really only interested in proofs of concept: can it be done? Once they prove it can be they lose interest in

Available RIGHT NOW at all major booksellers and in all major ebook formats, my new gothic mystery, "Bloodflow." Check your local bookstore and if they don't carry it, demand that they stock it now (give them the ISBN:978-1936991679)!
You can also find it on Amazon sites around the world, Barnes and Noble. etc. Electronic formats can be found at these sites, too, including Kindle and Nook, as well as on such book sites as Smashwords and Omnilit.
If you visit the publ

My new release, "Bloodflow," will drop Wednesday, December 18, 2013. This is the first in a gothic mystery series featuring one of the toughest, smartest, and sexiest female protagonists I've ever written: Kathryn Desmarais. Kate is a private investigator for International Investigations, Inc., or Tripple-I, a large private investigation firm in Manhattan. She's tough, savvy, an expert in martial arts.
In this first book, the search for an ancient casket leads Kate into the